After 1915, and as a result of the Great War, more than 200 bacterial action compounds were studied, among them hypochlorous acid. It was initially detected as an oxidating agent generated by neutrophiles. It was obtained from seawater.
There are references of studies by Dakin in 1917 with sodium hypochlorite diluted to 0.50% as an irrigation liquid for the cleaning and disinfection of contaminated wounds.
Later, in 1958, Agnes investigated hypochlorous acid as an immunological substance and defense mechanisms for granulocytes.
In 1989 Stephan J,. Weiss in the New England Journal of medicine conducted bacterial sensitivity studies on E. Coli and toxicity on tissue in guinea-pigs.
There are currently several patents of invention related to the production of hypochlorous acid, as mentioned below:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,638 “Production of hypochlorous acid”, owned by PPG Industries Inc., of Feb. 26, 1980 in which aqueous acid is produced by precipitating the acid through carbonation in a electrolytic cell where the cathode is liquid which is placed in contact with a bed fluidized with a mixture of gaseous chlorine and water vapor where the gas which is formed from the hypochlorous bed is absorbed by the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,215 “Hypochlorite compositions containing thiosulphate and their use” of Mar. 13, 1990, which discloses a process for disinfection, sterilization, bleaching and cleaning of a liquid or a surface comprised of: (a) producing an aqueous solution of hypochlorite, thiosulphate of earthy alkaline metal and a prebuffer in which the hypochlorite has an initial concentration of about 5 to 5000 ppm of chlorine and a molar ratio of thiosulphate to hypochlorite between 0.25:1 and 0.75: 1; (b) adjusting the initial pH of the solution between 9,.0 and 11.0 in contact with the surface or the liquid with the solution until the hypochlorite is consumed and the pH of the prebuffer solution decreases while the hypochlorite is consumed by the thiosulphate at the same time as the hypochlorite begins to depend on the initial pH of the solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,627 “Production of Hypochlorous Acid” published on Aug. 6, 1991, where hypochlorous acid is obtained by reaction of an aqueous solution of an alkaline metal hydroxide, forming drops with the gaseous chlorine to produce hypochlorous acid in vapor and particles of solid alkaline metal; a process where the molar ratio of the gaseous chlorine to the alkaline metal hydroxide is kept at least 22:1, The process includes the formation of impure chlorate in chlorinated alkaline metal particles. The hypochlorous acid produced contains 35-60% of weight dissolved in concentrated chlorine of at least about 2% by weight and is substantially free of ions of the alkaline metal and chlorine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,677 “Process for the production of a concentrated solution of hypochlorous acid”, owned by Oil Corporation, published on Jun. 21, 1994, a process which consists of the obtaining of an aqueous hypochloric acid solution having an HOCl concentration of 50-60% by weight, which comprises making a aqueous solution of an alkaline metal hydroxide with 50% by weight with excess of chlorine gas react, making them react at 80-120 deg. C. to produce a mixture of monoxide, chlorine, hypochlorous acid vapor and water vapor, solid particles of chlorate alkaline metal of at least 10%.
WO 9514636 “Manufacture of Hypochlorous Acid” owned by Joseph Repman, The Dow Chemical Company Trent and David, L., published Jun. 1, 1995, a process which consists of placed in contact the drops of a aqueous solution of hypochlorite metal having an intermediate volume, a diameter of 500 mm with chlorine gas to produce hypochlorous acid, vaporization of 20% m of hypochlorous acid produced in the preceding stage, containing chlorine, water vapor, hypochlorous acid and dichloride monoxide within an aqueous phase of acid.